


Fenestrated

by kimoi



Category: Homestuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-28
Updated: 2012-03-09
Packaged: 2017-10-31 20:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/348125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimoi/pseuds/kimoi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whoa, why did her fenestrated plane suddenly blink out? Why was she still going so fast??</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Leaping through her fenestrated window, Roxy finally felt relieved. After the whole send-off of Frigglish, the assault from those strange, vaguely exile-ish looking creatures, she was understandably on edge.

 

Sailing through the void, now, she hummed to herself as she descended. Wouldn't be long now. Back in another part of her house. She was eager to make herself another martini to take the edge off.

 

But something was wrong.

 

Frown immediately lit her features as the light in the window dimmed. She felt her blood run cold. What the fuck was going on? Shit. Shit.

 

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

 

Roxy flailed in mid-air, doing anything she could think of to stop herself from smashing into the window. What would happen? This had never occurred before. Was she going to crash through it into nothingness? Would she hit it dead like a brick wall? Fuck.Fuck. Panic had set in enough to make her give thought to prayer before the light flickered back on again. Just in fucking time, too.

 

"Fuck!" Her expletive was loud as she smashed through the window, her arms covering her face to try and avoid most of the glass that she flew past. She spun in the air and landed in a crouch, a thin line of red on her cheek. Didn't protect her enough, evidently! Confused, she looked around to try and gather her wits about her. Horses. They were a lot of fucking horses. And... turntables? Wait. She'd know that awful Rainbow Dash poster anywhere. Spinning around, her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. She leapt to her feet and lunged forward, but tripped on the end of the scarf, sending her flying face first into Dirk's chest. He was fairly solid, so he did little more than wobble. But he caught her.

 

His own look of incredulity was almost as confused as hers.

 

And then, at the same time:

 

"What the fuck just happened?"


	2. Chapter 2

Roxy detangled herself from Dirk, stepping back to catch her breath and allow her heart to chill the fuck out. She took a look to the window on the floor, plugged in. Gratitude swelled from her, and she hugged Dirk quickly.

"I am so glad you plugged tha' fuckin' thing in. I would have ended up like a fly on a windshield otherwise. Jesus Christ." She wiped her hand up her forehead, laughing nervously.

"Roxy?" He sounded incredulous, like he hardly believed that he was staring at one of his internet friends. "What the fuck just happened?"

"I think fuckin'... Godcat zapped th' window here f'r some reason?" Oops. After the rush of adrenaline wore out, she found herself swaying on her feet. "Can I sit th'fuck down? God Dirk what sort 'f gentleman are you anyway?" A mild scramble from the other blonde and he pulled out his computer chair for her, which she gratefully collapsed onto. "Anywayyyyyyy. Yer smart. Y'plugged it in. I probably woulda died otherwise. Fuck, haha." It was funny, in retrospect. Almost dying and all. Ha. Haha.

"I don't build robots because I'm an idiot, Rox. ...but run this whole window thing by me again?"

"Ohhhh my god." An over exaggerated roll of her eyes brought her to swing around in the computer chair; stopping when she was facing him, leaning forward in preparation to explain. "Iss' a fenestrated plane. Y'know. Fenestrated is th'act of somethin' goin' through a window. Which is what I do. These windows are... like... portals I guess. They take me from one window t'the other. I got 'em linked all over th'house. This one USED t'be. Til Gcat decided t'be a wily little fuck an' send it here for whatever reason." She heaved a sigh. "I had t'get out of the lab, though. Buncha fuckin' ruffians were on my tail."

"Ruffians." It seemed the explanation that he'd so kindly requested was not very noteworthy. Typical Strider.

"Ya. Ruffians. I was sendin' poor Frigglish back in time an' they were everywhere. I was like shit guys I got important stuff t'do. Fuck, I was s'posed to get back to Janey. I hope she's doin' okay." She fumbled around for her phone, finding it in her pocket - but the battery was too dead to connect Pesterchum. Wow, how long had she been falling? Dirk looked interested in what she had to say, suddenly, once she mentioned Jane.

"Jane?" He folded his arms across his chest. "What about her? What's she doing?" Roxy immediately realized her faux pas. Who was she telling what? Oh, shit.

"Uh... nothing." Her tone was falsely offended, as if Dirk had said something that was completely out of line. He quirked an eyebrow at her, moving closer. She held her breath as he knelt in front of the chair she sat in, looking up at her with his.... gorgeous orange eyes over his shades. Wow. Fuck. Talk about captivating.

"You can't go idle here, Rox. Now tell me what's going on with Jane." Hand lifted to cover her mouth a bit, chewing on the tips of her fingers. Pink nailpolish chipped off onto her tongue.

"Fuck... Dirk..." She looked away. His fucking _eyes..._ "Jane's in love with Jake. She has been f'r a long time. She's tryin' t'tell him now, I guess." Astonished, Dirk sat back a bit, looking like someone had dropped a six-ton weight onto him. But before he could reply, there were sounds coming from the window.

 

Roxy looked up to see four of the ruffians that had followed her through the portal.

"Fuck. We have bigger problems now, Strider."


	3. Chapter 3

They both stood. Dirk pulled a sword from his fetch modus and glanced at Roxy, who merely had her hands balled into fists.

"The fuck, Rox. Don't you have a weapon?" The blonde smiled fiercely at him.

"Two, in fact." She held up both her hands. "Shaken and Stirred. Fistkind. Now stop gawkin' an' start kickin' ass!" Without another word between them they lunged, facing the ruffians head-on. There was a flurry of knives, spears, and fists; Roxy managing to take two of them down with a few rapid punches. Dirk was similarly successful, and not ten minutes later his room was covered in small amounts of Grist. Roxy collected it eagerly, Strider standing around and looking rather dumbfounded. As if 'that just happened' wasn't a satisfying enough explaination.

"That's a look I'd never expect to see on you." The stance turned defensive for a moment, and then was replaced with one Roxy was more metaphorically familiar with.

"So Jane likes Jake, huh..." he murmured in a way that held startling amounts of apprehension. "I guess I should have seen it coming. They're both goofy-ass kids." If Roxy didn't know any better, she would have pegged his tone as 'bitter'.

"They are. With their 'gollies' an' 'goshes' an' whatnot." She fell silent, though, settling back into the chair. She felt guilty. And a little upset. She covered it up with a nervous laugh. "Sure glad I don't have any 'f that shit t'worry about." Her eyes were on her hand, tracing a small trickle of blood that had leaked from her knuckles. She dug herself deeper. "I mean... all this stupid feels bullshit, right? Makes me happy t'just be a pale fuckin' mess."

"You're bleeding." Did Strider choose to ignore every goddamn subtlety she let trip out of her drunken mouth or was he just really that dense?

"Happens. Sorry 'bout all the glass, too." But he was rummaging through a small box in a corner of his room, pulling out small bandages and various medical supplies. Crouching in front of the chair, he gently took her hand, cleaning the knuckles and spreading a small bit of gauze over them. His hands were lightly calloused, as she imagined that someone who played with swords and mixed music and built robots might be. Her imagination left out the thought of him actually sewing those eerie smuppets. Dirk's actions were very... careful. She always figured him to be cold and calculating, but never gentle or careful. When his hand lifted to inspect the cut on her cheek, she hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath until she let it go at his touch.

"You're a lot prettier in person," he muttered casually. She mentally cursed a thousand times when she felt herself blushing. When he pulled his fingers back from her warm, pink cheek, he was smiling juuuust a bit. "The cut isn't too bad. Location is unfortunate, though."

"I've got crazy mangrit, now. "Like Jane's dad. Unf. "I mean look at me. Sliced-up face. Bloody knuckles. Do I look like I jus' got bounced out of a skeezy back-alley bar'r what?" Speaking of bars, her buzz was slowly wearing off. She wanted a fucking drink.

"You look like you got thrashed, Rox." He was dabbing at the cut gently, cleaning it like he had her hand. The girl's face scrunched cutely as he applied a thin layer of some medical cream, then put a narrow bandage over it. "There."

"Thanks." He was looking at her again, with those pretty orange eyes...

They shared another moment when they both spoke again:

"We should talk."


	4. Chapter 4

Roxy remained in the computer chair, watching Dirk pace back and forth. Her fingers fiddled nervously with the end of her new snazzy scarf. The silence was both irritating and uncomfortable.

 

"Are you okay, Dirk?" she dared quietly. The blonde stopped pacing to look at her.

"I'm stable, Rox." That didn't mean good or bad, so the reply frustrated her.

"It's okay to have emotions, Dirk. Y'said it yerself - y'can't go idle. We're not online. Y'can't suppress your emotions eye-arr-ell like y'can through fuckin' Pesterchum. Y'don't HAVE to. I'm not gonna judge you or think less of you for havin' a goddamn expression that isn't dead stoicism. Yer a fuckin' human. Act like one." Her irritation fell instantly. "I'm sorry." A humourless laugh left her. "I guess I sound a lot more serious when my words aren't littered with typos, huh."

 

Much to her relief, he smiled.

 

"You're a good girl, Rox. No, I'm..." His façade broke, and he rubbed his temples. "Jane's a good kid." Roxy knew it was his way of saying 'I'm okay with this. Or I will be.'

"They'll be really good to each other, Dirk." She held up her fists again. "Or I'll kick Jake's ass."

"They're actually perfect for one another, if you think about it."

"In the same year, at least." Roxy always had the nagging suspicion that Jane and Jake were a little... behind the times. So to speak.

"They've both got that goofy, old-fashioned vibe to them, don't they?" She nodded.

"Yeah... I can totes imagine them all dolled up like they're goin' to some swanky soireé in the 40s or somethin'." Leaning back, she let her imagination take over. "She's gotta nice pair of gams, and she likes showin' them off with those short dresses that're pretty bold f'r th'time period. An' Jakey's got... idk somethin' classy. Shiny shoes. Some sorta hat. An' a stupid kerchief that he keeps with him because 'o my stars and garters' them dames can give him a case 'f th'vapors."

 

His laugh surprised and comforted her. If he had any thoughts on the stars OR the garters, however, he said nothing. A silence passed between them, Roxy's head leaned back against the support of the chair, spinning in it idly. Dirk appeared contemplative. After a long five minutes, he spoke.

 

"And where do you fit in, in all of this, Rox?"

 

She swung around to look at him.

 

"Whatcha mean, Dirk?"

"I mean... you know so much about how everyone feels about one another." Her heart skipped a beat. "Does anyone even know how _you_ feel?"

 

She sat up fully in the chair, suddenly feeling uncomfortable again. Was this the time? The place? Maybe she'd lie.

 

"Curiosity killed the cat, Strider," she offered in playful warning. She saw a brow arch behind his glasses.

"Yeah, but satisfaction brought it back. Out with it, brolein."

 

An 'are you actually serious right now' look crossed her face.

 

"That was an awful attempt to make 'fraulein' a bro pun."

"Fucker's gotta try. And you got the gist of it. Now, spill."


	5. Chapter 5

Laughing again, Roxy shook her head.

 

"It's really, really unimportant." A dismissive wave of her hand accompanied her words. "I'm totes fine."

 

Dirk knelt in front of her again. Shit. _Shit._ Those eyes.

 

"I'm not asking you if you're fine, Roxy. I'm asking you as a friend to tell me what's in that drunken little head of yours. You spend all this time meddling between the three of us and I'm going to wager no one's stopped to ask what all _your_ feels are on about."

 

She caught herself mid-swoon with enough time to offer a nervous titter.

 

"They're not impor-"

 

"They are."

 

"But I can't tro-"

 

"If anyone tells you how you feel is troublesome then let them deal with it. You've got a lot of irons in the fire taking care of our dumb asses as it is. Take a fuckin' break, Rox. Just relax. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to hear about it." He glanced away. "And if listening to all of us jabber on about ourselves is how you cope with something, then I think I'd like to give it a try."

 

Roxy hadn't once thought that maybe Dirk had more than girly teenage feelings bubbling in that lean... sexy... chest of his. Now with the added difficulty of Jake and Jane putting the respective moves on one another, maybe he could use a little relief from it. She'd always seen him as this stalwart, super cool dude that had everything in check. It's part of the reason she regarded him so fondly. Oh, who the hell was she kidding. She was head over heels for the semi-eccentric mechanic. Because he did things like this. At times she felt like Dirk was the only one out of their little quad of friends that actually gave half a shit about her. She smiled wanly, in spite of herself. She could afford to do him this solid even if it meant exposing herself.

 

"All sorts of hella ironic, huh?" she murmured down at him. She saw the faintest traces of a smile turn up the corner of his mouth.

 

"Humor me, brolita."

 

"Ooh, that one was better."

 

"The inspiration comes and goes. Now let's get our talk on."

 

Taking a deep breath, the girl took a second to gather herself, head full of vodka and all, and sighed.

 

"I mean, I totes don't mind listening to everyone with all their problems an' feels an' shit. Honest, I like it when you guys come to me. I don't really do a whole lot for you guys otherwise so bein' mama bird kinda makes me feel useful." He looked like he was about to contest her usefulness when she held up a hand to stop him. "Don't interrupt, it's not polite to interrupt a lady, Dirk. Gosh, _manners_." But she was smiling, and he was half-smiling too, so she continued. "Yer right, it is sort-of a way to forget my own shit. 'Cos while everyone's up to their tits in their own drama I've got my own, jus' sittin' at my computer, drinkin' em away. I always wanna say somethin' to you but I never do." She bit her lip a bit, looking away.

 

"To me? Colour me all sorts of shades of surprised." Roxy rolled her eyes.

 

"DUH to you, jackass. I mean yer like the only one outta our troupe that even gives half a damn. Erryone else is like 'man that Roxy, always stickin' to her guns an' her hackin' shit, she's toooootes fine. But I'm not. I'm so not." She was laughing, then, at herself. It was a miserable sound, and she covered her face with her hands. "Yer the only person that I feel ever goes 'I wonder how that dumb Lalonde broad is holdin' up'. An' you check up on me, an' yer a dick sometimes but I know yer jus' bein' yerself. An' that y'do care."

 

"Paging Doctor Vague, you have a someone with a something in some room number. Out with it."

 

"Fuck _off."_ But she was smiling. "Y'care, and it makes it really hard for me not to... have a thing for you. Okay. There. Happy?" At one point in time, Roxy had briefly tussled with the idea that maybe she had a thing for Jake. His lust for adventure was very enticing, as well as his slightly archaic way of speaking. It was charming, in it's own way. But the more she got to know him the more she cared for him like a doofy brother. And she was okay with that.

 

"A thing? That's still pretty vague, Rox. It could be a tumor or a hot air-balloon or something even more ridiculous than that."

 

"Feelings, asshole. I have feelings for you that are totes not pale anymore. I thought I was perfectly okay with just bein' yer awesome partner in mechanical crime but I'm not. So I didn't tell anyone, I jus' stayed back an' helped everyone out with their shit and kept it to myself. Because it'd fuck with your plans, it'd fuck with everyone's goddamn plans. I _don't_ like bein' the difficult fourth wheel here. You guys all have this tricycle of love goin' on and I'm the awkward kid tryina keep from fallin' off."

 

Dirk shifted a little, but laid his hands on her knees. She looked down at him again, her brows knitted slightly.

 

"It's tough, Rox. It's tough and nobody understands - I know this. But you're important to us beyond being a mediator." In spite of herself, she laughed.

 

"Again with bein' totes charming and frustrating at the same time. Backhanded complements are _rude,_ Mister Strider." Her smile faded when his expression didn't change.

 

"Rude as they may be, I'm afraid that's really all I can offer you right now." Roxy's heart fell a little, but beat faster when his hand came to her cheek again, delicately thumbing over the bandage. "Just keep it together, okay? As tightly-knit as we are, you're still one of the most important things we have in common. None of us can afford to lose that."

 

"I jus don't know what t'do about how I feel. I can't promise that I'll stop feelin' like I do for you, even if it makes problems. I'm a stubborn girl, Dirk Strider. I don't let things go very easily."

 

Pulling his hand back, he stood; laying it on the top of her head. He tilted it back a little, to look into her eyes. Gazing up at him, she held her breath.

 

"I'm not telling you to stop feeling like you do for me. I don't want you to. Because maybe, sometime in the future, I'll need someone to be there for me, like I am for you."

 

Roxy could only nod.


	6. Chapter 6

After another few minutes of a not-quite-so-uncomfortable silence, Roxy stood.

 

"I think I'll get the fuck outta your hair now. I've done enough damage." She re-wrapped her scarf around her neck, giving another look around his room. Something told her that this'd be the last time she saw it. If she ever saw it again, it probably wouldn't be for a long, long time.

 

"What do you want me to do with this window?" Dirk nudged it with his foot, curiously watching as the void the window lead to shifted around on his floor as he did so. Fuckin' mysteries, man.

 

She strode over to him, carefully picking up the shards of broken glass and putting them into a nearby wastebin. As well as some of the broken weapons the ruffians had dropped. She hoped there weren't too many of them left back there.

 

"I dunno. Keep it. Unplug it. Or hey, you can always come visit me if you want." She winked at him playfully, but the gesture made her a little upset. Overall she was glad for the feelings jam, even if it did leave her a bit emotionally empty and right back to where she started from. Full of feelings and nothing to fucking do with them. Story of her goddamn life.

 

"I got shit to do to keep me busy here. Last thing I want to do is tumble into your house and run into your mother."

 

"You say that as if she speaks poorly of you, mister Strider. I assure you I only tell her good things about all my friends."

 

"True as that may be." He paused, though. "I'll give it thought, Rox." That made her smile.

 

"Good. I mean, I hope so. I'm down one feline companion so I could use another friend around to cheer me up." Her look turned curious when a small flash of insight sparked on Dirk's face.

 

"Oh, shit. Hold on a second." He shuffled through his sylladex a moment, Roxy's brow furrowing in confusion and eagerness. A minute later he extracted a card, and... a small, plush wizard cat was in his hands. Lalonde's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped slightly.

 

"Duke Whiskerton," she whispered, snatching the plushie up in her arms as it was offered to her. "Oh my god, Dirk..." Eyes were on his face instantly, searching for any trace of snideness or irony that she could find. Neither were present. "Y-you... you kept him. I totes just sent this to you as a joke - but you... kept him..." God, were those stupid tears in the corners of her eyes? Pull your shit together, Roxy! ...and was Dirk blushing?

 

"I thought it might come in handy. Either that or I was going to sew it to the back-end of a smuppet and send it back to you." There, there it was. The smirk she always imagined resting on his gorgeous face, under his beautiful eyes.

 

"Dirk Strider you are insufferable." But she tucked the cat under her arm and slowly began taking off her scarf, stepping closer to him to wrap it around his neck. Before she could let go of either end, he leaned down, gently kissing her cheek over the band-aid. Her eyes lifted to his as he pulled away, the faint blush topping the small smile she showed him. "Fair trade?" she whispered, opting to not say a word about the gesture, but adjusting the scarf just a bit. Instead of responding, he reached to take the cat from under her arm, cuddling it to his chest in an overt show of girlishness.

 

"I dunno, I am going to miss cuddling him in my sleep." His grin widened, and Roxy playfully swatted his arm, snatching the plushie back.

 

"You're absolutely ridiculous."

 

Another quiet moment settled between them, and he put a hand softly on her arm.

 

"Fair trade."

 

Not another word was shared as Roxy stepped over to the window, giving Dirk another look before she blew him a kiss, and jumped through the plane.

 

If she had stayed a moment longer, she would have seen him catch the affection in mid-air, and hold it to his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS INCREDIBLY STUPID AAAAAA


End file.
